What Will Be Remembered
by akurosa
Summary: <html><head></head>Luffy remembers what matters. He only remembers what matters. One-shot, Luffy and the whole crew nakamaship. Set during the Enies Lobby Arc.</html>


_Suddenly inspired by the quote stated below. The paragraphs that are not in italics are each about a particular arc during the series and it ends with the Enies Lobby Arc. The writing is vague but (I'm terribly hoping) we OP fans will have no trouble identifying which arc it is. There are a few moments that are not actually in the series._

**In the end you will remember not the words of your enemies but the silence of your friends. **

**-Martin Luther King Jr.**

The mushroom headed idiot, screams as he points the gun. The gun point is shaking just like the hand that is holding it. Mushroom head takes a deep breath, overly aware of the sweat on his palms, before shouting with a confidence his threats. And Coby screams right back, not with confidence but courage, that he no longer wants to be a burden...

_...But Luffy doesn't remember this. He only remembers leaving his back bare because Zoro shifted. Zoro hadn't said a word, hadn't reached for his katana, but Zoro was there and Luffy remembers that for the first time in his life silence wasn't a lack of conversation, just the lack of the need to voice it... _

The dog barks and barks and barks. The house is burning down and it is beyond rescue, but Chou Chou doesn't stop barking. The flames may be licking down the walls and everything inside it, but the memories remain, and _he_ remains, so surely that must mean something?

Later, the man in the white fur brags about his pet lion's beauty and the clown who can reattach himself boasts about his powers and pride...

_... But Luffy doesn't remember this. He only remembers the relief that washed over him when Zoro picked himself up from under the house's debris. He only remembers the silent and mutual agreement they made when Boodle the town mayor dashed off to fight and their equally mutual streak of amusement for fights and fun... _

The man claims to have the biggest crew in East Blue and he doesn't fail to mention it every chance he gets. His crew boast about their numbers and their captain's various attacks, each more amazing(_sneakier)_ than the next...

..._But Luffy doesn't remember this. He only remembers the triumph of winning the battle and falling into the sea and then finally waking up to an unfamiliar scent of cigar in the air and fresh bandages. He remembers the other cooks of Baratie gruffly asking about his injuries but his cook, Sanji, always silent and never asking, never bothering to because, afterall, the badages didn't wrap themselves..._

The razor nose fishman laughs as he explains his race's superiority in comparison to puny men. The towns people shriek and cry at the right moments and the sounds of several inch thick walls cracking are deafening...

..._But Luffy doesn't remember this. He only remembers the thick pain in his nakama's desperately suppressed sobs and the calm determination and simple promise he and his three crew mates didn't have to mention as they walked down the path that led to where their navigator's nightmares began-and where it would end..._

The winter wind whips against bare skin leaving tinged nose and ears behind. The former king exclaims his rights and threatens death against anybody who dares to defy him. He treads on dreams and mocks the protests all in the attempt to regain a kingdom that was wrongfully his...

_...But Luffy doesn't remember this. He only remembers after the battle, when the cool hooves were on his feverish forehead, in that touch there was hesitation in the silence as the two legged reindeer began to dare to hope, dare to dream..._

The man who has the power of lightening demands all respect him, hail him. He strikes the pitiful beings who try to stand against him, one by one, enjoying every minute of it. A single boy from the Blue Seas below come up to challenge him and he laughs, mocking arrogance in every syllable…

_...But Luffy doesn't remember this. He only remembers the wordless agreement he had with Zoro in Mock Town that the fight wasn't worth it. He only remembers the quiet trust his first mate had offered and he remembers looking at the man who called himself a god and trusting that trust-the trust his first mate had in his decision- and deciding this fight was worth it. _

The man explains that he is powerful. He explains that the flag that flutters in the air is what is going to destroy Nico Robin. He brags with a swagger that nobody can stop them because them is the world and the world cannot be beaten-then screams in disbelief and panic when the challenge to the world is made loud and clear and the flag burns brightly against the sky….

And Luffy doesn't care. Because standing before them, the enemies may be shouting, but standing beside him, his friends are silent.

And Luffy knows that in that silence, there is so much more.


End file.
